


Overcoming The Mind

by WritingCoffeeAddiction



Category: Orange is the New Black
Genre: Comfort Sex, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluffy Ending, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Prison Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-24 16:54:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9771830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingCoffeeAddiction/pseuds/WritingCoffeeAddiction
Summary: Lorna's always fantasized her life. But when reality finally catches up to her, who will be there to help her cope? Lorna/Nicky.





	1. Overcoming The Mind

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own the show or characters. All I own is the writing and most of the story (since some of it stems from the show).  
> Anyway, enjoy. (I hope).

Fantasizing has been a part of Lorna Morello's life since she started her first day of Kindergarten. When she came home from school that day - with no friends to tell her parents about - she made up a story to make herself feel better. In high school, she told everyone how rich her family was - which definitely couldn't be further from the truth, but she would do anything to get other students to be her friend. Currently, she's telling everyone how in love she is with her beloved Christopher and how they're planning the wedding for as soon as she gets out of prison. And at this point, all the other inmates are getting fed up with her constant wedding talk.

Prison is one of the last places that Lorna could have ever imagined herself to be. Sure she knew buying expensive items online and then asking for a refund - while she sat holding them in her hands - wasn't the smartest decision, but she never thought it would get her into trouble with the police. Although it might also be due to the fact that she created a fantasy with the one man that she loves more than anything, and she wholeheartedly believes this to be real - so much that she always knew exactly where Christopher was at. She knew his number, his address, his real fiancee's name, where he worked, where he bought his coffee. She met him during one of her trips to the post-office, in the midst of her online shopping scams, and he asked her out for a coffee. From that day on she knew the two of them were meant to be, even when he refused her a second date.

* * *

Lorna spends most of her time - when she's not busy cleaning the bathrooms or hallways - watching television, usually with her best friend Nicky Nichols, in the rec-room or strolling along the garden that Red created outside. She's only half-way through her prison sentence - which is thirty-four months, just a couple months shy of three years - and time only seems to go by slower and slower each day.

* * *

"Morello," a voice calls out. Lorna takes her eyes away from the screen to look at whoever had called out her name. Suzanne Warren - better known as 'Crazy Eyes' - is standing in the doorway of the rec-room, peering at her with her wide black eyes, "Someone's on the phone for you. I was just in Caputo's office and he told me for you to come down there. I don't know who it is but it sounds to me like it might be that fiance of yours - oh what's his name? Christopher?"

A weary smile appears on the short woman's face as she gets up and starts walking to his office. She hasn't seen or heard from Christopher since the day of her trial. Butterflies fill her stomach at the thought of getting to hear his voice again. She wonders what he'll say - maybe things between him and Angela aren't working out, not as if she thought they would. Christopher is too good for that woman, Lorna thinks.

When she finally walks into Mr. Caputo's office, he absent-mindedly hands her the phone before going back to working on his laptop. Lorna takes a deep breath, bringing the phone to her ear. "Hello?" She greets in her perky Brooklynn accent. She anxiously waits to hear who it is, desperately praying it's Christopher. She needs to hear his voice, it's been too long.

"Look Lorna, I know you fucking broke into my house a few weeks ago!" It's definitely Christopher on the other end. He seems to be very angry which makes the butterflies in Lorna's stomach turn into fear and nausea. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! You're absolutely the most demented, psychotic, fucked-up bitch that I have ever met! You are delusional and I wish you'd be locked up in there for the rest of your miserable life. Unfortunately you won't be, so let me make one thing clear - When you do get out of prison if I ever see you near me, my family, or my wife, I will kill you! I will kill you with my bare fucking hands, Lorna! I mean it - I will fucking strangle you until you're lying on the floor fucking dead." The line goes dead and she shakily hangs it up. She runs out of there as fast as she can, tears running down her face while her body trembles.

* * *

Nicky Nichols - who's in the midst of a sex contest with Boo - is in one of the shower stalls with a fresh new inmate, Soso or something odd like that. This is probably one of the most annoying inmates she ever met - all she does is talk, all through her orgasms. She rolls her eyes, just wanting this to be over. Then suddenly a faint cry is heard, and the redhead knows it's certainly not Soso - she's too busy flapping her lips about something she can care less about.

The cry gets louder and Nicky instantly recognizes it. She immediately stops what she's doing - taking her hand out of Soso and redressing herself - then quickly walks to where she hears the woman's cries. Her heart breaks when she sees Lorna curled up in one of the stalls, trembling with sobs. "Hey, what's the matter, kid?" She looks at her, her big brown eyes soft with worry as she crouch down beside her and pulls her in for a hug.

Lorna can't even bring herself to look at the taller woman - one of her closest friends in there and she's lied to her; she's lied to everyone. It's not like she meant to lie to them; it's just that living in her fantasies is what helps her cope when times are tough. That's been her coping mechanism since she was a young child. And now it feels like the fantasy she has worked hard to keep hidden is being torn from right under her.

"Please talk to me, kid," Nicky's raspy voice worriedly begs as she holds her tight. She lifts her chin so that they're looking directly into each other's eyes. "Is this about Christopher and his idiot fiancee again?!" For the past month that's all Lorna has talked about, and if it were any other person, Nicky would be annoyed and probably tell them to shut hell up already. Most of what the brunette did would annoy her, if it was anyone else. She had a soft-spot for her, ever since she walked into the prison a year-and-a-half ago.

Brown eyes - that usually held positivity and a somewhat annoying cheerfulness - looked up at Nicky with a darkness that she had never seen before. Tears are coming out by the truck-load, her bright-red lipstick has long been wiped away, and she just looks like a complete mess. "Christopher called me," she whispers, her voice strained from how raw and dry her throat feels. Hearing the words he said really hit her hard into reality and that did not feel good.

Nicky's face shows a bout of confusion - for as long as Lorna has been behind bars, never once did this 'Christopher' come to visit her. So to hear that the woman received a call from him made her realize he's actually a _real_ person. "What did he say to you? Did he call just to rub it in your face that he's got a new lover?! That filthy son of a bitch!" She balls her hands into fists, outraged how awful men could be.

If only that's what he had called about, Lorna thinks to herself. She bows her head down, ashamed of the woman she's become. She can't bare to live in this reality - a reality where all she does is hurt the people she loves and can't even face it without making up another lie. "I - I have a problem," her hands shake as she keeps her head down. "I-I've do-done really bad things, Nicky." It hurts deeply to realize that she can't keep living in the fantasy she created. But she doesn't know how to cope in the real world without it. She doesn't know how to deal with truly being alone in the world.

Nicky immediately wraps her arms around her, pulling her as close as she can. She kisses the top of her head, and gently looks into her eyes, "I'm pretty sure everyone in here has a problem and has done terrible things. That's why it's called prison, kid. I mean all you did was scam some online stores, that's nothing compared to what some of the other women have done! Don't beat yourself up over it. Now tell me what Christopher said to make you so upset!" She runs her hand comfortingly through the other's wavy brown hair.

"T-that's - That's not all I've done," Lorna sobs out, her heart ripping inside of her. She doesn't want to end her fantasy, but she knows eventually it will all come out anyway - if not by her, by someone else. "I-I lied to you, and everyone in here. Christo-Christopher and I w-were never going to get married. I-I m-made it all up," she can hardly breathe, it hurts too much to even speak. She hates that she has to face reality - that's never been something she's good at. "We-we only went one date, and I instantly fell in love with him. I-I couldn't see a life without him - but-but he told me he wasn't interested in pursuing a relationship. He told me that - that he met another woman, Angela, and he liked her better. _'She's normal'_ , he said to me, _'You're pretty and all, Lorna - but Angela's a goddess, she works out and eats healthy, she actually chews her food instead of just inhaling it! She's fit; you're kinda thick, and you're too chipper for me. It just wouldn't work, Lorna.'_ And-And I didn't take rejection well, s-so I-I st-started to stalk him. I loved him, I really loved him! I wanted us to be together, he was everything I dreamt of in a man!"

Nicky stares at her, her eyes wide - she never expected to hear that. She sighed, pulling her closer and stroking her back softly. It made much more sense as to why her sentence was so long for an online-shopping scam, because that's not what it was even for. She had a sense that there wasn't something quite right with Lorna's head, but this was just a complete shock. It didn't anger her to know that her best friend lied to her, it angered her that no one in her family saw the signs of an obvious mental condition that seemed to consumer her. And what angered her even more was hearing what Christopher told Lorna, when breaking it off with her. "Christopher's an asshole, a complete fucking asshole for saying that to you! From the picture you showed me of Angela, she's not even close to how beautiful you are! Maybe he oughta get his eyes checked. What the fuck's he mean you're kind of thick?! You look pretty damn thin to me, kid. Men are such fucking dicks - literally and metaphorically." She looks compassionately into the smaller woman's eyes, brushing her cheek softly with her knuckles, "You're too good for a guy like him anyway, kid. Way too good! You mind tellin' me what he said to you now?"

Lorna slowly looks up at her, watery eyes, and surprised. "You-you don't hate me? You-you're not mad that I lied?" She wearily asks, still not buying it. If she were Nicky, she would hate herself for what she's done - she hates herself as her own self. Any other person would probably drop her as friend immediately, she's mentally insane. That's what her family tells her, the judge told her, Christopher constantly tells her, and the COs tell her. She should be locked up in psych, is exactly what the judge told her during her hearing.

The redhead feels her heart ache at that question. Ever since she met Lorna, something in her changed. She became much less rambunctious and hard-headed, especially around the petite, italian, woman. "Kid, I could never hate you. I mean it's really messed up that you would make a story like this up and actually believe in it, but that isn't going to make me want to stop being your friend. I'm mad at Christopher for how fucking rude he was when he broke off a relationship with you, and I am mad that your family didn't do anything for you knowing that something's wrong with your mind, but I'm _not_ mad at _you_. You can't really lie when you actually think it's the truth, right? Now tell me what he said to you over the phone! So I can have more reason to hate him." Nicky keeps her voice soft, trying to calm the other down. She strokes her hair gently while peering into her eyes.

"He-he told me that when I get out if I ever come near him or his family or Angela, he'll kill me. He'll strangle me until I'm lying on the floor dead - fucking dead, is what he said. He said that I'm demented, psychotic, and I should spend the rest of my miserable life in prison - he's right, I should. I'm too fucked up to be allowed in the real world, I can't function." Fresh tears start pouring out of her eyes as she squirms her way out of Nicky's arms and starts dry-heaving. It feels as if the world is closing in around her - it's too hard to breathe.

Nicky shakes her head, fuming at the thought of someone wanting to actually kill Lorna. She grits her teeth, and hits her hand roughly against the wall - secretly wishing it was Christopher's face that she hit. How could anyone want to kill Lorna? Sure she wasn't exactly stable in the head, but she was the kindest person in the world. She would never intentionally hurt anyone. Nicky groans angrily, then quickly scoops the smaller woman back into her arms and kisses her head. "Christopher isn't touching a hair on your head, Lorna. I'll fucking find him and kill him. You're not demented or psychotic - you're a sweet, beautiful, and somewhat crazy woman. But you are not fucking demented! Not even close, kid. The fuck kind of person is he?! Does he enjoy hurting you? Does he fucking enjoy making such a sweet person like you cry?! He's the fucking demented one here, not you. God I swear if I ever meet this sleazy Christopher, I will beat him until he can't move. You should be happy you never dated him, kid, he's an asshole. That's all he'll ever be. And you don't deserve someone like that. You deserve to be loved by someone who actually wants to love you. Someone who will protect and take care of you the way that you should be," she speaks firmly, but looks softly into her eyes.

Lorna shakes her head, sobs quieting into sniffles. She looks up at Nicky, pain clearly in her eyes. "Who would ever want to love some fucked up person like me? Who in their right mind would want to have to deal with me?"

Hearing that only makes Nicky hold her tighter, she runs a hand lovingly through Lorna's hair. It breaks her heart to know that her beautiful best friend thinks that no one would ever want to love her. Maybe Christopher wouldn't but someone else will - someone better. She cups her face, stroking her cheeks lightly, and presses a warm kiss to her lips, "I would want to love someone like you, Lorna. You're a beautiful, sweet woman with such a big heart. Quit saying you're fucked up, because you're not! You're not anywhere near fucked up, kid. You just need a little help." She brushes a hand through Lorna's hair, kissing her cheek. "I want to be with you, Lorna, I want to love and take care of you - protect you from all the fucking idiots in the world. We both have problems, and yours don't bother me. They only make me want to love you more, and take care of you more. I may not be a man like Christopher - although I'd hardly consider him a man for how much pain he's caused you - but I sure as can love you more than he could. And I can promise you that I will never hurt you, kid. You're special to me - very special, baby. I will always be here for you," Nicky speaks gently, while pressing another soft kiss to Lorna's lips.


	2. Love Is All She Needs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Developing feelings for Nicky, Lorna's not sure what to do about them...and she's not sure if Nicky even feels the same way.

No one loves Lorna Morello. Who _would_ love a person that seems to constantly be living in their own little world? No one, no one would love someone like that - someone like Lorna. But if that was true, why did Nicky Nichols - one of her closest prison friends - tell her that she loves her? Or at least say that she would want to love Lorna? Was there something Nicky saw in her that no one else had? Well whatever the reason, knowing that she still had her best friend made all the difference for Lorna. That's all she needed to survive the rest of her time in prison - Nicky's friendship and love.

* * *

Lorna decided to stroll around the garden for a while - she needed something to keep her mind from continuously thinking about the conversation she had with Nicky the other night. Fresh air always brought a sensation of calming to her; in her youth, she spent most of her summers outside. She helped her mother grow a garden in their backyard, and she made sure to keep up with it each day. In her teen years, she signed up for the local swim team - the more activities she did to keep busy, the less her mind would wander into a world of its own. That was until she graduated high school and all the friends she had moved away for college. Her parents weren't made of money and their health was deteriorating fast. So she had to give up her dream of furthering her education to stay home and help her older siblings care for their parents. That's when her mental condition began to decline - with no activities to keep her busy or friends to hang out with, her mind was free to do whatever it felt like.

* * *

The petite brunette inmate walked around the fence that protected the garden, and saw Red working on planting another batch of red tomatoes. Slowly, she began to make her way over to the Russian woman. Sure the two weren't nearly as close as Red was to Nicky, but she still really liked her and considered her as a mother figure. In so many ways, this inmate - with her short, choppy red hair, thick-curved eye-brows, and deep blue eyes - reminded her of her own mother. The way she's always out in the garden, and how she treats the people she loves. It all brings such lovely memories of what it was like before her mother got gravely ill and passed away.

"Do you need any help?" Lorna asks, standing in front of her. She watches as the older woman digs up another hole for the plant. It reminds her of the many hours she used to spend - as a little girl - in her own home garden. That was one of her favorite things to do, and it had such a calming effect on her. "When I was little, I always helped my mom plant vegetables. And flowers - we planted a variety of different things. Even peppermint; my mom loved to make homemade tea with it."

Red looks up at her, her rough features soften - she has a soft-spot for her, _everyone_ has a soft-spot for Lorna Morello. She hands her a pair of gloves, and puts the box of plants in-between the two. "Make sure you dig a big enough hole, the roots need to be kept deep," her accent deeply pronounced as she gets back to work. She takes one of the tomato plants and places it in the hole she just dug up, tightly pushing it down and spreading fresh soil onto it.

The brunette follows suit, staring over at Red. She observes her quietly, wondering if talking to her about what happened with Nicky might help her sort out her feelings. "Uh, Red, can - can I talk to you about something?" Lorna nervously asks, looking down at the dirt. She's not one to usually go to anyone when she's having trouble deciphering what she feels, but because it has to do with Nicky - the one person she cares so deeply about - she knows she needs help figuring things out. And what better person to help her than Red?

To hear Lorna - who can talk one's ear off easily - near stutter when she asks that, Red immediately stops what she's doing and turns to her. She gives her a worried look, taking a hold of her hand while giving it a squeeze. "Of course you can, child. What's the matter? Does this have to do with Nicky? What has my rambunctious daughter done this time?" She lets out a sigh - Nicky can be so impulsive sometimes, especially when it comes to Lorna. Red's known a while now how much her prison daughter loves this petite woman, and how angry it makes her that she's engaged to some man on the outside.

"She hasn't done anything, at least nothing bad," Lorna quietly responds, digging another hole, "We had a little talk the other day, after - after I uh broke things off with Christopher...And well she said - she said she would want to love me. And I don't exactly know what she meant by that. I - I doubt she meant anything by it, right? Who would ever - in their right mind - love a person like me? Not even Christopher loved me - and, and we were about to get married. So why would someone - as kind and beautiful as Nicky - love me? I'm sorry, you probably have more important things to do than to listen to my annoying problems..." She rambles, digging her hands deeper and deeper in the dirt.

The red-haired woman shakes her head, staring sternly at her. She squeezes the hand she's holding even tighter, "There's nothing annoying about what you have to say. And I can assure that there are many reasons why someone would love you - especially Nicky. You're a nice young lady, and you don't talk shit about anyone - like most of the women in here. You see the good in everyone, Lorna. Now I can't tell you what she meant by that, it's not my place, but I can tell you this; you and Nicky are good together, you two seem happy when you're with one another. Whenever the two of you fight or don't speak for a while, I and everyone else can definitely see it. Your moods are worse when you're apart."

Lorna knows everything Red says is true - she and Nicky are so much better when they're together. Lorna's better when she's with Nicky; she helps her to stay grounded and stops her mind from going crazy. Her mood is vastly improved when she and the redhead are on good terms. "Nicky's my closest friend in here, and I know without her I couldn't survive. I think - I think I love her, I mean really, really _love_ her," she says, looking up at the Russian. She really thinks she loves Nicky; she needs her - without her she would completely fall apart.

Hearing that, Red inwardly smiles. She's known ever since the two of those girls met that there was something serious building between them. In the way they looked at each other, the way that Nicky changed after Lorna came into the prison, she just knew that they were meant for each other. And now - not only had she known her 'daughter's' feelings - but she also knows that Lorna has those same feelings, and she couldn't be any happier. "You ought to tell her, Lorna. I can bet that she might just feel the same way." She gives her hand a motherly pat, smiling kindly at her.

* * *

Slowly, Lorna walks into the bathroom - knowing that this is the time Nicky usually takes her showers - and sits herself on the bench that lies in front of the shower stalls. Her stomach queasy with nerves, she couldn't help but think that Nicky might not actually feel the same way - that she'd reject her just like Christopher had, now that she knows how damn crazy she is. She couldn't handle it if her best friend rejected her, that would be even more unbearable than giving up her fantasy.

Waving a hand in front of the brunette's face, Nicky worriedly stares at her. She just got out from the shower and her body is only covered by a white towel that is tied tightly around her. She plops herself down on the bench, beside Lorna, and cups her head in her hands, "Hey kid, you in there?" She gently strokes her forehead, concern showing in her big brown eyes.

Lorna looks into her eyes, and slightly smiles. She wraps her short arms tightly around Nicky's neck, embracing her lovingly. "I need to tell you something, and I'm kind of scared to," she gently says, squeezing tighter. Red was definitely right - she always felt happier with Nicky around. And Nicky brought such a sense of warmth and safety to her. She would always be okay with the redhead by her side. The one person who would never fail her - or at least she hoped she wouldn't.

"You can tell me anything, kid. Don't be scared to tell me," Nicky's voice warm with compassion as she gently wraps her arms around the brunette's tiny waist. She peers down at her, her brown eyes full of warmth, and presses a kiss to the top of her head, "Just cause' we're not fuck-buddies anymore doesn't mean that I've quit caring about you. I'll always care about ya, kid. And you can always come to me when something's bothering you, okay? Now please tell me what you need to tell me - I'm listening."

Hearing that only makes Lorna more nervous to say anything. Instead she reaches her hands up to cup Nicky's cheeks and brushes their lips together. "I - I love you, Nicky," she whispers, brushing her thumb tenderly across the other's face. "I love you a lot, more than I loved Christopher - even if that wasn't real - I love you more than I believed I loved him." She can hardly bare to look at her - not wanting to see the rejection in her eyes; there's no way a person like Nicky could ever love her.

A huge smile grows on Nicky's face as she pulls her close, kissing her lips tenderly. "I love you too, kid - you have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear you say that," she warmly says, holding Lorna's head in her hands and looking softly into her eyes. She presses her lips to her forehead, each cheek, nose, jaw, chin, before their lips collide once again in a soft kiss. "I've always loved you, Lorna - ever since I first laid eyes on you. You're the most beautiful woman my eyes have ever had the pleasure of looking at, and you're just so sweet - if you were anyone else, I would find that absolutely annoying. But nothing about you is annoying, _everything_ about you makes me love you even more." She gently scoops the petite woman into her arms and carries her to their usual 'fuck stall', carefully pushing her against the wall of the shower. Her hands gently run down her best friend's body, caressing every inch of her skin with tenderness.

Lorna cups Nicky's face and kisses her deeply on the lips, stroking her cheek lovingly. She beams up at her, "You're the only woman I will ever love like this, and the only woman I can ever be with. And you are the only woman who can make me feel this wonderful, I love you so much Nicky!" Her hands lovingly run down the sides of the redhead's body, leaving feelings of warmth all throughout her skin. She wraps her arms back around Nicky's neck, pressing another warm kiss to her lips.

The taller woman uses one hand to caress Lorna's cheek and the other she softly reaches down into her friend's pants and inserts inside her. She gently applies pressure while also kissing her lovingly on the lips. Her smile grows wider as Lorna moans her name, and is nearly shaking from the intensity of the orgasm she just gave her. "You're beautiful when your orgasm, kid. Oh who am I kidding - you're beautiful no matter what you're doing." She carefully takes her hand back out and repeats her actions, letting her other hand run gently down her body. She watches as Lorna begins to shake even more and moan her name louder; she finally releases the pressure and takes her hand out so that she can hold the brunette in her arms. "I think we should go lie on my bunk - I just want to hold you for a few hours. I really love ya, kid."

* * *

When they finally arrive back at Nicky's bunk, she climbs up to it - with the brunette in her arms - and lays atop the mattress, placing Lorna softly against her chest. She wraps her arms protectively around her waist, kissing the top of her head. Nothing feels more natural to Nicky than having the woman she loves more than anything in her arms. She wouldn't trade that for anything. Smiling contently, she stares down at the smaller woman, "It feels so good to finally know that you have the same love for me as I do for you. You are so special, Lorna. No one has ever made me feel this way before - I've never ever had love for anyone like I do you. And I actually enjoy this feeling. I enjoy having you in my life, kid." She runs her hand gently through the other's dark hair, twirling it around her finger.

Lorna smiles softly, lifting her head slightly to stare up at Nicky. She caresses her chin gently, kissing her warmly on the lips. "You're so beautiful, Nicky. I love you - I love you very much. I probably loved you for a while now but was too caught up in my own world to even see that. I'm so sorry if I hurt you by always telling you about Christopher! Oh God I probably did hurt you by going on about him all the time - I'm really sorry. You're so much better than he was, and all I ever did was hurt you. Whatever I can do to make it up to you, please tell me. You mean so much to me, Nicky - I never ever want to hurt you again or lose you," she warmly says, reaching her hand up to tenderly stroke the other's cheek. She knows she hurt her for never realizing how in love Nicky was with her, and she will feel bad about that for the rest of her life. Never would she want to hurt this woman in front of her, and for the past year-and-a half she did, unintentionally, but still she did hurt her.

"Oh Lorna, baby, you couldn't have known that I was in love with you," Nicky speaks softly, looking lovingly down at her. She pulls her closer and kisses the top of her head gently. "It's fine, kid - please don't beat yourself up over it. You had too much going on in that pretty little head of yours to see anything else. I'm not mad at you for that - I could never be mad at you, Lorna. Besides it doesn't matter anymore - Christopher is outta your life for good, and you know now how deeply I love you. And I know how deeply you love me, so it's all good now - we're good now. You'll never lose me, baby - I promise you that. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, even when we get out of this shithole, I'll still feel the same way. No one can ever make me love them as much as you can, kid. You're my soulmate. I love you so, so much sweetie, I always will," she whispers soothingly into Lorna's ear, kissing her softly. Her arms wrap tighter around the petite woman and soon they both drift to sleep.


End file.
